Jordan Sonnenblick

I am going to be bold and name the author and the book outright. Once I wrote a book rant about some authors, and I wasn't exactly complimentary, then the author found herself and commented. I have rarely been so disconcerted about something. And ashamed, really. Did I think authors didn't look on the internet to find out what other people are saying about them? So, Mr. Sonnenblick, if you read this, I hope you enjoy.

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie was on a recommended new release list several years ago, and I checked it out from the public library and proceeded to read the whole book in one sitting. It had a rare quality: making me laugh while crying at the same time. I've read so many books that a lot of them tend to lose their impact, but this one still packed a punch. I started recommending it to my students, and often reading it with them. Just about everyone likes it.

What's not to like in a story about a middle school boy with a typical middle school attitude but a very big heart and very big problems? The interactions between Steven and his little brother, Jeffrey, who is fighting to survive leukemia, are indescribable in a review. You'd just have to read it.

I assumed that in spite of the way it ended, Notes from the Midnight Driver was about all the sequel it was going to get; then, late last week while browsing the shelves looking for something completely different, my eyes fell upon After Ever After. And then I read the front flap and realized it was about Jeffrey. Then, I realized I had to read it. Immediately.

Same experience as the first. I see why other reviewers referred to it as a "brave" book. It deals with some seriously controversial issues ... well, controversial for anyone who's at all interested in the past, present, and future of American public schools ... in addition to the very relevant tale of what happens after a child survives cancer.

When I first finished it, I was kind of thinking along the lines of it didn't fully resolve all, or really any, of the issues it brought up. But even after very brief reflection, I've decided that's a strength. That's what makes these stories so powerful—they just tell the story, rather than asking questions and giving cookie-cutter answers to them. There was just enough of a resolution for the book to feel complete, and to allow the reader (me, I guess) some closure.

Great book. Definitely worth investing a few hours in.